Rose Confession
by Night-Blaze
Summary: AU. Misao takes advantage of a certain event to confess her feelings to her crush of 5 years. AxM (One-shot)


Rose Confession 

Hello minna-san! This fic is written in answer to the May challenge of the ShinobiLove Yahoo! Group. Hope you enjoy it. Please RnR.

Night

P.S. Aoshi may seem a little OOC here.

Disclaimers:

The characters of Rurouni Kenshin do not belong to me. Plus, I got the idea of "Rose Confession" from "Imadoki". Credits also go to the author of "Meiji Heights" for the kempo club idea.

oooOOOooo

Misao narrowed her eyes as she faced her opponent, Hannya. Her hands were poised and ready to move in retaliation to whatever he threw at her. Slowly, as they started off, she began defending herself against his attacks, moving this way and that, while gradually pushing him on the defensive as the fight progressed, using the new moves he had taught her. Suddenly, she mistimed her kick and Hannya shifted out of her range easily, while he retaliated with a swift punch, which knocked Misao down.

"Shoot!" said Misao, as she rubbed her side. "I almost got you."

"Close, but no cigar, Misao." Said Hannya, grinning. "That was good though. Just remember what I said about timing. You've got the basics, now all you need is practice."

"Hai," she replied, bowing to him. "Domo arigato gozaimasu."

"Domo," he said in return, bowing.

As she returned to her seat, another member, Omasu, stood up and moved to the centre of the gym, ready for her sparring match with Hannya. Misao tuned them out slightly as her eyes wandered around the gym, glancing along at the other Kempo Club members as they sparred with each other, before stopping on the tall figure of the Kempo Club Captain Shinomori Aoshi.

She sighed mentally. Shinomori Aoshi. Major hottie alert. Tall (she barely reached his chest!), with his long bangs falling in his grey-green eyes, he was so cool. Calm, collected, mature, enigmatic and with an emotionless face, girls (and boys) everywhere loved him. He even had his own fan club and members ranged from students to the staff. Ever since the first day she met him, she knew that there was no other for her except him. She only hoped he felt the same way about her too, though it was all but impossible. After all, he was surrounded by all kinds of babes; why would he notice a flat-chested, tomboyish little girl?

Silently, she watched as he moved between the members, instructing them every now and again, though he normally trained the more experienced fighters with the sensei. Suddenly, he looked up and straight at her. Blushing, Misao quickly averted her eyes. She couldn't believe that he had caught her ogling him! Boy was that embarrassing. Pretending she hadn't stared at him, Misao watched Hannya and Omasu spar, and the pointers Hannya gave the girl. As she bowed and returned to the edge of the mat, Hannya dismissed them all, as it was now the end of club activities. Getting up with the others, Misao quickly headed to the showers. Boy would she need that. Particularly since she wanted to get over Aoshi catching her ogling him. Little did she know that a pair of grey-green eyes watched her as she left.

oooOOOooo

Sitting on the bench, legs swinging, Misao waited impatiently for her best friend Kaoru to turn up. Since club activities were now out, she wanted to hang out for a while with Kaoru before she had to return to "The Aoiya" (the restaurant her family opened and where they lived) and wait on its customers.

"Misao!" came a loud cry from somewhere behind her. Turning around, Misao watched as her best friend came running up to her, waving something in her hand and with her ponytail streaming out behind her.

She waited as Kaoru slowed down when she reached Misao. Panting, Kaoru thrust the something (which turned out to be a flyer) into Misao's hands. "Read this, Misao. You won't believe what it says!"

Looking down at the flyer, Misao scanned through it, ocean-blue eyes widening as she read each word. "Are they serious, Kaoru?"

Kaoru nodded as she took back the flyer. "Yup, they are. It's so romantic, don't you think? Using red roses to confess your love."

"Yeah, but what if the person you like doesn't like you in return? It would really suck if they gave you a yellow rose, saying that they only want to be friends and not something more." said Misao as she pointed to the flyer.

"True, but what if they DID give you a white rose, saying that they love you in return? That would be so dreamy!" gushed Kaoru, as she clasped her hands together and pretended to swoon.

"Hehe, yeah, I can see it now," said Misao, as she gave Kaoru a sly look. "Thinking of Himura-sempai giving you a white rose, huh, Kaoru?"

Snapping out of her dreamland, Kaoru blushed as she rubbed the back of her head. "Eh-heh, well, it would be great, wouldn't it? I mean, since I like him and all that. But… I'm kinda afraid… what if he rejects me? I mean, he had been dating Tomoe…"

Misao rolled her eyes. "Come on, Kaoru! That's old news! Tomoe and Himura broke up a couple of months ago and she's dating Kiyosato-san now. Besides, Himura doesn't look like a lost puppy, does he? In fact, they're all good friends. Wake up, Kaoru! He's a free agent."

"I suppose," said Kaoru, still looking rather uncertain. "Ah!" she said, shaking her head. "Enough about me. How about you, Misao? What do you think of a certain tall, brooding icicle-like sempai giving you a white rose?"

Misao's cheerful energy seemed to dim to almost nothingness. Looking down, she mumbled, "I don't think that I dare to give him a red rose, Kaoru."

"Why not?" demanded Kaoru. "You've worshipped him since your first year in junior high! And you're now in your second year of senior high. How long is that? At least four, five years!"

"Shh! Not so loud, tanuki! We're still quite close to the gym." hissed Misao.

"Oh, for crying out loud. Nobody's here anymore, I'm sure they've all scooted already. Relax, will you?" Kaoru replied, arms akimbo. "Now tell me, why aren't you going to give him a red rose? This isn't like you!"

"Well…" said Misao, as she looked up into Kaoru's eyes. "While I like him, I don't think he's ever noticed me, I mean, look at him, Kaoru! Everywhere he goes, girls surround him, and quite a few of them are really hot, don't you think? Why would he notice me? I'm sure you can see that I lack in that department!" she continued, as she waved her hands around the vicinity of her chest.

"Misao, don't put yourself down like that! Come on, just because you seem rather flat-chested doesn't mean that nobody will ever notice you! Look, you have brains, you're energetic, cheerful and full of life and wherever you go, people cheer up. If that isn't something, then I don't know what is. Besides, you've got quite a few admirers, you know."

"Yeah, I suppose so. But what if he doesn't like me? What if he gives me a yellow rose?"

"Don't worry, so much. We'll deal with it when the time comes. But I've got a feeling that he isn't as indifferent as you think."

oooOOOooo

Aoshi sneezed. Odd, he didn't think that he had caught a cold. Ah well. It didn't matter. If he had caught one, he'd just have to deal with it.

"Bless you, Okashira." Said Hannya, looking at Aoshi.

"Thank you. So what do you think of the new members?"

"Not too shabby. We've managed to weed out most of those who just joined so that they could get closer to you. Those who remained are really passionate about kempo."

"Hn. That's good to hear. Now we wouldn't have to worry so much about the next tournament. We'll send the better members then."

"Hai."

As they walked out of the gym, Aoshi and Hannya saw Misao and her best friend laughing and talking together as they left the school. Aoshi locked his gaze on Misao's figure as she energetically skipped beside her friend.

"You like her, don't you, Okashira?" stated Hannya quietly.

"What?" asked Aoshi, as he turned his head to face Hannya.

"Nothing."

"Hmm." Aoshi looked thoughtfully at Hannya. "We'd better get going. It's getting late."

Suddenly, a piece of brightly coloured paper blew right into Aoshi's face. Silently removing it from his face, Aoshi stared at the words written on the paper.

"What's the matter, Okashira?"

Still silent, Aoshi passed it to Hannya. After reading it, Hannya wolf-whistled. "You're in for a very interesting time next week, Okashira. May I extend some good luck to you?"

"…"

"You'll need it. I can see the hordes of fans coming after you, all with a red rose. Fortunately – or should I say unfortunately? – you only have to stand this for three days. Pity the Horticulture Society couldn't find some other way to raise funds."

"I'm doomed." Said Aoshi, running his fingers through his hair.

oooOOOooo

A door slowly opened. A rather haunted-looking Aoshi poked his head out, cautiously looking left and right before leaving the classroom. Damn those stupid Horticulture Society members. Damn the person who came up with this idea. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't be in so much trouble.

It was only the first day of their fundraiser, and all the girls (and guys) in the school were out and about with roses in their hands, hunting out their crush. Guys like him, with large fan clubs were being harassed left, right and centre. Gods, how he wished the Horticulture Society hadn't thought of this; he hated disappointing a girl, and now, with this scheme, he'd have to disappoint dozens of girls… and boys (since he DEFINITELY didn't swing that way). Maybe he should just skip school for three days. Yeah, that would be a good idea. But then again, he really wasn't the type of person to miss school for no good reason. On the other hand, being stalked by hundreds of fans may be a good reason for skipping school…except that they DID do that everyday. Oh well, looks like he'd have to endure this torture.

"Okashira."

Aoshi flinched reflexively before it registered that it was Hannya standing beside him and not an obsessed fan. "Hannya." He said, ignoring the grin that was on his best friend's face.

"Here, I bought a whole bunch of roses for you," said Hannya, extending a bucketful of yellow roses to him.

"Thank you." Aoshi replied, deadpan and without a flicker of emotions showing on his face as he took the bucket from Hannya.

Noting a white rose in the midst of the jungle of yellow roses, Aoshi lifted an eyebrow at Hannya, who grinned again. "For that special someone, Okashira."

"Oh?" asked Aoshi. "So how much do I owe you for the roses?"

Hannya waved him aside. "Don't worry about it. Just brace yourself for what is to come. Good luck." And with that, he disappeared, grinning to himself. The thought of his staid, emotionless Okashira fending off his rabid fans was more than enough payment.

Aoshi stared after Hannya for a moment before he himself hurried away to his favourite spot, the roof. As far as he knew, no one except Hannya knew that he liked to go there. He ought to be safe from those rampaging fans for a while; no one ever went there…only to find that the roof was not vacant.

Standing there, leaning against the railing was one Makimachi Misao, with a red rose in her hand. She was totally unaware of him as she stared at the rose. She was beautiful, he thought, watching her poised there, her bangs being ruffled by the wind, an unusually pensive expression on her face. He wondered what she was thinking of. Maybe it was of the guy she liked, he thought, feeling a stab of jealousy, his eyes on the rose.

He must have made a noise, for she suddenly jumped, emitting an undignified squeak. Turning to face him, her ocean blue eyes widened, and she unconsciously took a step back, only to be foiled by the railing. "Shi-shinomori-sempai…" she squeaked.

He stood there, waiting for her to calm herself. Putting down his bucket of roses and inclining his head slightly, he said, "I'm sorry to have startled you."

Laughing shakily, Misao replied, "It's ok, I should have been more aware of my surroundings." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "I didn't realise sempai liked coming up here."

Without knowing why, Aoshi answered, "This is my retreat, you might say."

"Oh, I see…" she said. "Then I'm not sure why I've never seen you here before. This is also a favourite spot of mine."

"Sou ka…" He said, stepping towards her. "It's probably because we come at different times then."

"Yeah, probably," she said, fiddling with the rose.

Stop playing with the rose already, thought Aoshi, with another pang of jealousy. Ignoring that pang and her wide-eyed look, Aoshi moved towards the railing just beside Misao and leant on it, staring at the far away horizon.

oooOOOooo

Misao couldn't help herself. She knew it was rude to stare and she knew that he had to be tired of girls staring and/or drooling all over him, but she really couldn't believe that he was standing beside her. She dimly recalled seeing the bucket of yellow roses he had brought with him, but it didn't seem relevant at all. All she knew and cared about was that her Aoshi-sama was standing next to her and had talked to her. And the conversation hadn't even been about kempo but something a bit more…personal. It was like a dream come true!

Maybe there was hope after all, she thought as she gathered up her courage.

"Ano… sempai?" she asked tentatively, looking at him shyly and shuffling from one foot to the other, her hands behind her.

"Yes?" he asked, his voice deep and rumbling. Kami, it was just so sexy.

Bowing her head, she put her hands out in front of her, the red rose in her hands. "This is for you, Shinomori-sempai."

Her heart pounding like mad, she didn't dare look up, her face was a bright tomato red. Please let him accept it, and me, she pleaded silently, aware of the rather painful silence between them, stretching longer and longer.

Suddenly, she felt him gently take the rose from her hands. Daring a peek in his direction, she saw him smile faintly. Seeing that, Misao almost swooned. Oh, Kami! He was such a HOTTIE!

Still not daring to move much from her position, she watched as he walked back towards the door, where his bucketful of roses were. Dry-mouthed, she realised that there seemed to be only yellow roses in that bucket. She couldn't remember seeing a white rose anywhere. Suddenly, it was as if the butterflies in her stomachs were armed with bokkens and shinais.

oooOOOooo

Aoshi felt stunned when Misao had given him the red rose. He never expected that she liked him! A sudden fount of warmth seemed to bubble inside him and he smiled faintly as he recalled Hannya's words from a week ago. _You like her, don't you, Okashira?_

Indeed I do, Hannya. Thank you for understanding me so well, he thought as he walked back to his bucket of roses, Misao's red rose tucked inside his uniform. And thank you for guessing her feelings and anticipating her actions as well, he thought as he fished out the white rose from its sea of yellow companions.

Caressing its petals lightly, he then walked back to Misao, a faint smile hovering on his lips. She still hadn't moved from her position. Gently, he cupped her chin, pulling her face up to look at him, the white rose in between them, positioned at her eye level.

"Oh!" she gasped. Aoshi watched silently as her face turned radiant, a big smile on her face, the warm feeling in his chest growing stronger.

Stooping down to be on the same level as her, he tilted her head slightly as he kissed her. Almost immediately, she began kissing him back. After a few minutes, a need of oxygen reminded them to pull away, albeit reluctantly.

Eyes shining, Misao looked at Aoshi, a cute blush forming on her face as she whispered, "Aishiteru, Aoshi-sama."

Looking down tenderly at the flushed girl, Aoshi replied, "Aishiteru, Misao-mine."

They shared another tender look before Misao laughed as she lifted the bucketful of yellow roses. "So, Aoshi-sama, do you need help with those big bad mean fans who are all ready to pounce on you?"

Looking down at her, with a faint smile on his face, Aoshi replied, "I think that your being with me is all the help I need, Misao."

And with that, they left the rooftop, hand in hand.

OWARI


End file.
